The Godly Experiment
by CaptainS10
Summary: AU. Artemis is a cross-breed monster, a result of an experiment by the gods that dropped him on Earth after it failed. He is hated and feared by most of the other inhabitants of Earth, monster and human alike. He lives his life secluded from the rest of the world, until one fateful encounter in the forest leaves him with a duty to protect the elf he accidentally made a target. A/H.
1. Chapter 1

**So I've had this in my drive for a while... I really like the idea, but I wasn't sure what to do with it. Still not entirely sure, but I've decided I'm not going to let that stop me anymore! I've got a lot sitting around to share with you guys that I haven't because I'm not sure where it's going, and I think I'm just going to start posting it now. May as well flood the archives with stuff based on the true AF (even if they are AUs) before that movie comes out and gives everyone twisted views, hm?**

 **Anyway, if you want to see more of this then let me know what you think! Like I said, I think I'm just going to start posting stuff, so it's up to you guys to motivate me to keep going with some of it! :)**

Prologue

Artemis was on the prowl.

Well, technically that wasn't true. Before he had been only trying to get home, but now he was prowling, on his guard, because he'd just realized he was being stalked by predators. His only predators… his enemies. Other fallen magical creatures.

The night air ruffled his fur as he slinked forward, nearly silent and low to the ground. He could sense them nearing him, and by the light of the full moon, he could make out a few shadows behind his own when he glanced over his shoulder. Some of them looked human. Others were as small and discreet as himself. But it didn't matter; they were all there because they were following him, and they were all dangerous. Not that he was really afraid - he knew he could take them easily - but they were pesky and persistent enough to do some damage before retreating.

Well, they were on his tail now, and there was no sense in waiting time and energy prancing around and trying to shake them. No, he couldn't do that. Not only would they not budge, but he'd give away that he knew they were following him. That wouldn't be good at all. No, instead he'd play a game, and lead them along into a nice little trap. If he could get them on comfortable ground for him, then he would be able to take them out easier, and he'd have more later spoils.

He crept forward, following a familiar but diverging path from the way home to another place in the forest. He pushed and belly-crawled his way through the greenery and shrubs, finally escaping into a clearing. It was cool and wide spaced, the ground wet from the rain the night before. It was also completely surrounded by trees, and in the distance, his sensitive ears pricked at the sound of rushing water. There was a river nearby.

What was also nearby, a lot closer than it should have been, was a girl. It was a little girl, too, even smaller than toddler sized but obviously alone. How did she get out here by herself? Could she even walk?

Of course she could, he realized, with some concern. She was a magical creature. An elf. He barely caught a glimpse of the pointed ears when she looked up at the sound of his entrance. Her hair was long and red, but mostly tied back, with only a few stray fiery curls escaping her messy bun. She looked at him, wide-eyed, and then behind him and gasped.

It was then he realized that he'd forgotten his pursuers. It had only been a split second, but had been enough; they'd crept up behind him, half surrounding him in a semi circle. He lurched forward, and, surprising himself in the action, snatched up the girl by the collar, tossing her a few feet behind him and turning to face them in her place with a ferocious snarl.

His eyes swept over the group surrounding him. This group was smaller than most, only two wolves and four vampires. It would be an easy kill, but he'd have to be careful. He couldn't drink the blood of the vampires. That would be poison to him. The wolves were his normal feasts, but there was not so many this time. It would be hard fight if he wanted to really keep them alive to drink from them. But then he remembered the girl behind him. Maybe he wouldn't have to keep them alive…

One of the vampires launched at him. He clamped his wolf jaws down around the neck, snapping it in an instant, and then tossed him aside. He spat the blood from his mouth as he ran forward to meet the next one.

In the end, it was an easy fight. He snapped two other vampires' necks and ripped the final one's heart out. One of the wolves he took down with a few scrapes and bites. The other escaped.

Artemis threw back his head and let out a howl. He made sure it was long, drawn out, and utterly releasing. Howling always felt good. It was a safe, easy way to pour out all emotions through the voice without having to actually think of words to articulate in with. It was all in the one simple, solid sound.

He stopped when he finally ran out of breath. Of course, he probably wouldn't have when he did, if it weren't for the shock of feeling something touch him. He jumped, and his howl cut off abruptly as he turned his head to face the source.

It was the girl again. She must have snuck up behind him, and he, lost in the howl, hadn't noticed until she touched the back of his tilted head. Artemis snapped and growled a little, lowly, hoping to intimidate her, but she just stared at him, one hand still raised as if to touch him again.

Artemis stared at her, moving back slowly, and then with a sigh put his head in her hand. She squealed a little and hugged him. "Soft wolfy," he heard her murmur. "Good wolfy."

He let her cradle his head for a few minutes, but then slowly pulled away, aware of the predator's eyes on him. The vampires whose necks were broken weren't dead, just wounded, and neither was the one wolf that was still in the clearing. If they thought he had a weakness for this girl - which even he admitted that it would look like he did to prying eyes - then she'd become a target in the future, no matter where she went or what she did, even if he never saw her again. And even as easy as the fight was, fighting was draining. He wasn't altogether sure how well he could defend her again tonight if that other wolf came back with reinforcements.

He turned to face her and looked up at the girl. She stared back at him, her hazel eyes wide with a mix of different emotions. Although, strangely, he didn't see any hint of fear in her eyes; curiosity, maybe, and fascination, but not fear.

He shook his head a little, and, frowning, knelt his head to take her sleeve between his teeth gingerly. He tugged little and made a soft sound, almost a whine, trying to get her to follow him. He needed to get her out of the clearing and in the cover of the surrounding forest while they still had time.

Slowly, she followed him, allowing him to lead her by the sleeve into the nearby trees. Obviously, she didn't think she was in danger. Technically, she wasn't. He wasn't going to hurt her… Well, he wasn't planning on killing her, anyway.

Pulling her into the forest again, he released her by a tree, which she immediately backed up against. He slinked around the tree and shifted back to human form. Half a second before she turned and saw him, he sprang around and slammed her back into it, his teeth sinking into her neck smoothly.

The girl gasped and threw back her head. He felt her knees give out beneath her and immediately put his own against her stomach, holding her up, pinioned against the tree as he sucked the blood from her body. It was sweet, tangy, but more potent than he was used to. It must have been because of the kind of magical creature she was. Her blood was blended different and contained more magic than werewolves, which was what he was used to. Not that he was truly complaining. It was delectable, and he knew that even after this brief taste, he'd soon feel the urge for more.

But that was to be dealt with at a later date.

He drank until he felt his strength returning, then let her go. He'd had enough, and she was so small, anyways. He'd probably taken too much already. She was unconscious, completely oblivious to the world around her, and as such he would probably have to stay with her until someone came for her, otherwise she would never get back on her own.

He shifted back to wolf form and waited.

It didn't take long for somebody to come for her. Maybe fifteen minutes, at most, before a young man, obviously also elfin, came barreling through the trees, yelling what he presumed was her name. Artemis sat back on his haunches and walked behind a nearby tree, watching silently.

"Holly!" A short, dark haired man ran over to her and knelt down, putting his head on her chest to listen for a heartbeat. Obviously relieved to find it, he sighed and sat up, pushing some of her red curls away from her face. "What an idiot," he muttered, shaking his head. He reached down and slid his arms under her, hoisting her up and started back the direction he came.

Artemis watched him until he disappeared from sight and then walked out from behind the tree, heading for the edit of the patch of trees again. His head was spinning, and he could still taste the mouthwatering flavor of her blood on his tongue. What a night, he thought, then strode back through the now-empty clearing, heading for home. He made back without another incident and collapsed into bed without even changing back to human form, exhausted, but, for the moment, sated.


	2. Chapter 2

1.

Holly Short was on a mission.

Well, not technically. Not an important mission. Said elf was only above ground to perform a personal duty, but she considered it a mission now because she was seriously low on magic, so it had to be done, and because her boss, Commander Root of the LEPrecon, had found out about it and signed the visa for her to go do so personally before kicking her out of his office.

It was a warm night. The moon was full and shining brightly, reflecting off the river behind her, and she was enjoying bathing her face in its glow for just a few seconds before she opened her eyes and looked down. She gazed at herself reflected off the river's surface and sighed. Her auburn hair was long, almost too long now, and in need of a cut, but she didn't have the time to do so at the moment. She was working way too much overtime. Her hazel eyes were large and bright, but accented by dark bags beneath the coffee colored skin, a sign of her many late nights and lack of sleep recently. Boy, was she tired, bone tired, but she had a few things left to do before she could rest.

She turned away from the river and walked towards the oak in front of her, kneeling down, searching for an acorn. She found one easily and quietly stood, reaching up for her wings, only to see that they were gone.

 _What? No_. It wasn't possible. She swore she'd just hung them on the branch above her. But yet they were gone. So was her helmet. And her gun. It must have gotten removed from her holster, but how?

She turned around and about jumped out of her skin.

In front of her was a man. He was pale-skinned, and thin - too thin, to the point where it was hard to look at. He did have some meat on his bones, but barely any, and the little he did have was muscle. He was also much, much taller than her.

"Hello," he purred, taking a step toward her. She tried to step away, only to find she bumped into something else. Only this one held something in his hand: a piece or her missing equipment. Her gun.

They both laughed when she jumped, and suddenly the man behind her had a death grip on her arm, pulling her back against him, and shoving the barrel of the gun in her back deeper. She yelped, trying to move, to break loose, but she found it was impossible. He had a grip like iron, and she was stuck in it.

Her face seized with panic, and one of the men saw it. "Aw, don't worry, sweetheart," he drawled, sarcastically. "We'll take good care of you."

Her head snapped up immediately. She hated being talked down to, and endearments never seemed endearing to her, just annoying, even when they weren't said sarcastically. However, when she opened her mouth to retort, something made her freeze: the feeling of something brushing against her leg. She didn't have to glance down to know what it was, but nevertheless, she did, and found her suspicions confirmed: it was a wolf.

And there wasn't just one. As she looked down, she saw two wolves behind the one pressed against her leg, and three other men. Two of the others behind her had the rest of her equipment slung over their shoulders; the other was lounging against another nearby tree. Obviously, this had been a setup as an ambush, and she'd waltzed right into the trap they'd laid for her.

"D'Arvit," she swore quietly.

The man in front of her laughed. "Oh, we got a foul-mouthed one, boys. But I suppose it makes sense that such a foul creature would only want another just like him." He laughed at that, and Holly caught a glimpse of his teeth in the split second that he'd thrown his head back and laughed. They were pearly, dangerously white, and the front two canines were elongated. _Those aren't human teeth_ , she thought as he lowered his head and glanced back at her. "Okay, boys. Let's knock 'er out and get going, shall we? We have business to conduct and we can't afford to linger."

Holly heard the safety click of on her gun and gulped. "Business?" she gasped out, desperate to try and put off what now seemed like her inevitable kidnapping and likely death. "What business?"

He didn't seem very inclined to answer her. He just grinned her way and said, "Yes, sweetheart. Business. Business that now very much includes you. But don't worry. I'll explain later." With that, he nodded to the man that had ahold of her and simply ordered, "Shoot her."

"I-" Holly started to protest, but the words were lost with a soft clicking sound as her Neutrino was fired and she was knocked unconscious by the blast from her gun. The darkness overtook her and she collapsed limply into her captor's waiting arms.


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing she felt again was the throbbing pain in her back.

She opened her eyes slowly. The room was dark, so dark she could barely see. It was smothering.

She sat up slowly, wincing at the pain in her back. She had never gotten to replenish her magic, so it hadn't healed. Every move sent pain shooting through her, but she'd had worse, and right now all that mattered was getting out of here.

She got to her feet and blinked a few times, trying to make her eyes adjust to the darkness. It helped, but not by much, and without her helmet there was nothing that could be done. She could just see well enough to make out the bars of the cage she must have been in, not much more outside of it.

"Well, well... look at this." With a soft hiss and a blur of movement, a face suddenly appeared on the other side of the bars, right next to hers. For a moment, they were so close they were almost nose to nose.

Holly threw herself backwards hard enough to hit the bars on the opposite side of the cage. She gasped in pain and dropped to the ground, cursing herself internally.

The man laughed. "You must be as stupid as you are pretty," he sneered. "What did you really think that was going to accomplish?"

Holly didn't bother to respond to that as she pushed herself back up slowly. Her back was throbbing worse than ever now. "What do you want?" she demanded when she had made it back to her feet.

"Nothing that you need to know about yet."

He looked like he was going to say more, but then a hissing sound cut him off. He frowned and backed away, melting back into the shadows.

Holly walked over to where he'd just been, grabbing the bars of her cage and rattling them in frustration. "Hello?" she called.

Nobody answered, much to her frustration. She huffed and flopped back down.

For the longest time, there was no movement, no sign that anyone was in the room with her at all. She knew better, of course. She wouldn't have believed she was alone even if she hadn't seen or talked to the man. It would be dumb to leave a hostage alone - especially one who had been as well armed as she had been. They had to have assumed she was dangerous.

Then, out of nowhere, it was like every living being in the room breathed in all at once. There was a loud, synchronized hissing sound, and somebody far off whispered, "He's here."

A snarling sound filled the room. Holly found herself backing away from the bars and sitting in the middle of her cage, hoping whatever it was would stay away from her, or at the very least not be able to get to here in there.

All it once, as if by some unspoken, unseen signal, the room filled with the sounds of animals fighting. Snarls, hisses, snaps of bones, cries of pain - they were everywhere, overwhelming her senses in an instant.

Holly covered her ears and closed her eyes, waiting for it to be over.

But the sounds never stopped. What finally made Holly open her eyes was not the silence she had been waiting for; it was someone slamming into her cage.

She cried out in shock and scrambled as far back from that side as she could, until he back was pressing against the bars on the other side. There was another slam, and another, and then suddenly the door to the cage came off it's hinges and fell forward.

She moved out of the way as it fell beside her, staring at it in shock. Slowly, cautiously, she moved forward towards the exit and poked her head out.

Somebody grabbed her. Holly cried out as a hand fisted in her hair, dragging her out of the cage and into the fray. "Let's go," a voice snarled. She recognized it as the voice of one of the men who had abducted her from the ritual site.

He dragged her along by her hair for a good few feet before suddenly, just inches from her head, something clamped down on the man's wrist. If the breath was any indication, it was one of the wolves.

He screamed and dropped her, and Holly hissed at the sudden released in tension on her head as she tried to move away. She crawled blindly, still unable to see much of anything in the dark, until she found a wall and pressed herself against it. If her back was to the wall, then she knew nothing was sneaking up behind her, and more important, she could use the wall as an anchor point to find her way to the door.

She moved along the wall as best she could for several minutes in the darkness. She couldn't be sure how much progress she was really making in the dark though. It was frustrating.

Just as she had the thought, a little spot of light suddenly appeared across the room. Holly stared at it, wondering for a long moment if she was hallucinating. But when another one popped up a few feet away from her, then on the other side of the room, she decided she wasn't.

In a few moments, the room went from being as black as pitch to dimly lit, but well enough now that she could see. When she looked around, however, she almost wished she still couldn't see.

Bodies were strewn everywhere. Wolves, gaunt-looking men like the ones who had abducted her, even normal-looking people; there were dozens of each lying around like broken rag dolls, and dozens more still standing. The worst part was seeing what the sources of light were. They were all bodies of the gaunt men that had been set on fire. Some of the men were still standing.

Holly took it in, her eyes sweeping around for a way to escape. Eventually she saw there was a door, but it was clear on the other side of the room. Her heart sank. How could she possibly make it all the way over there without getting killed? It seemed unlikely. But she'd made it this far, and she could hardly give up now. She'd just have to keep inching along the wall in that direction and hope no one noticed her.

Her hope was in vain. In a few minutes, she would find that out the hard way.

oOoOoOoOo

Artemis was in the middle of the fight. His adrenaline was pumping hard as he darted back and forth among the vamps and weres, looking for any sign of Holly as he fought. He'd had James break her out of her cage, but as the two targets in this crowd, neither of them could stay out of the fight for long, and James hadn't gotten distracted and lost sight of her before he could get her to safety.

If he wasn't able to sense the fact that she was still alive, he would just give up and go. But he knew that she was. She was here somewhere. He had to find her and make sure she got out alive.

 _Any sign?_

Artemis was too busy fighting for a moment to answer. _No. Just keep lighting up the vampires, and keep your eyes open. She's around here somewhere. The brighter it is, the easier it will be to find her._

 _You got it._

From the corner of his eye, he saw another flame light up across the room. He sighed internally, and turned around, scanning the room again-

Then another vamp was on him, and he had to stop searching for a minute to fight it off. Disgusting creatures. They reeked, and their blood tasted like acid. He knew from experience that drinking it would make him sick, and it was not an experience he wished to repeat. He spat out it's blood as the creature fell in front of him, then sniffed the air. She was close; he could smell it.

There! A few feet away, against the wall. She was huddled with her back against it, edging towards the exit. It would have been a smart maneuver, if she had been keeping an eye on her surroundings too, but she was so focused on making it to the exit that she didn't even see the group of vampires headed her way.

He growled and dashed towards her, reaching out to James again in his head as he moved. _James! I found her. Let's go._ Then, after quickly pushing the mental image of where she was to him, Artemis shut him out. He needed to focus.

He leapt over a vamp and landed a few feet in front of her. Holly gasped and looked at him, her eyes glowing with fear. Of course she wouldn't be able to tell him from any of the other monsters in the room, but that didn't matter right now. What mattered was getting her out of here alive.

He met her eyes for a moment, then turned to face the approaching vampires.

oOoOoOoOo

James raced across the room to where they were, hoping he wasn't too late to be of help. When he spotted them, he made a running leap and landed on one of the vampires, pulling it away from Holly, since Artemis was too preoccupied with the other two to do anything.

He took the vampire down, snapped it's neck, then lit it on fire. With a growl, he turned on the other two, intending to help Artemis take them down.

 _No._ Artemis spoke in his head again for the first time in several minutes. _I can hold these two. Take Holly. Get her out of here._

James whined, shifting his weight from paw to paw. _What about you? You can't expect me to leave you._

 _I can and I do. I'll meet you at the lair. Go!_

The last thought was so commanding that he was forced to obey. He ran over and grabbed Holly by the collar of her shirt, ignoring her choked gasp, and swung her onto his back.

With one last look at Artemis, he took off, heading for the door and freedom.


	4. Chapter 4

He ran without looking back until he reached the lair, trusting that Holly was smart enough not to let go of his fur. Her small weight never left his back, so he knew she managed to hang on the whole ride.

For her part, Holly just held on and let him carry her away from the danger. She pressed her face into his fur to keep the wind from impacting her breathing, and just waited for him to stop. No, she had no idea where she was going, but one wolf would be much easier to escape from than that whole room of creatures back there, and as long as he was taking her away from it, at this point, she didn't really care.

It seemed like forever before the wolf finally drew to a stop. He slowed down and then ducked, as if climbing under or into something, then stopped completely and gently set her down.

Holly scrambled away from the wolf as soon as it dropped her. Her heart pounded in her chest, hard, and the sound of her own blood rushing through her head pounded in her ears. She moved as far away as she could, moving blindly backwards until her back her back hit the wall. The wolf wasn't following her, just sitting in the same spot he had when he'd dropped her, watching attentively but still with surprising wariness. Almost as if it was worried that it had scared her. But it was just an animal, right?

Maybe not. After all, she was seeing more and more evidence that these weren't normal wolves. Like the rescue… and the startling intelligence in their eyes… The thought made her flashback to not even an hour before, the black wolf leaping from seemingly nowhere out in front of her, snarling protectively and ready to attack. She remembered the look of complete, intense intelligence in it's deep blue eyes. No, she decided finally. There was no way that they could be normal animals.

Suddenly the wolf across from her was on alert, standing up and quickly turning back towards the door. For a second, Holly thought it might be leaving, but as she peeked up around it, over it's shoulder, she saw it had only turned to greet it's friend. The black wolf, the one that had protected her earlier, was back.

It brushed past the brown one with a few steps. The brown one whined softly, and the black wolf nodded it's head a little, as if in understanding. All the while it stalked closer, until it was standing right over her, it's piercing blue eyes locked on her once again.

She stared at it with wide eyes, not moving, not making a sound. The barest hint of a whimper slipped through her lips.

The wolf seemed to sigh, and then, much to her surprise, it sat down in front of her and lowered it's head. Almost as if... It wanted her to pet it?

Tentatively, she reached out her hand and placed it on the top of it's head. It didn't move, and she let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. It wasn't going to snap at her; she was fine. That had been what it wanted. It wanted her to pet it.

If she'd had any further doubts about the normalcy of these animals, they were gone now. Slowly, she stroked down the wolf's face, between it's eyes, to the nose. She did it once and twice more, and then sighed and removed her hand. The wolf lifted it's head to look at her for a moment, and in a second their eyes meet. Then it stood up and just walked away, pacing through an unseen door behind her and out of sight.

She turned to look back at the other wolf, then blinked a few times in surprise. It wasn't there anymore. Instead, in it's place, stood a man.

He was dark haired and dark skinned, incredibly so, as if he'd gotten a bit too much sun, and tall as some of the people who'd kidnapped her. His body was toned and muscled, "ripped" as she could imagine someone describing him, and his eyes were deep, chocolate-y brown as he stared at her almost tenderly. The dark leather of his jacket rubbing against the jeans he was wearing made a strange sound as he stretched out an arm and walked closer to her.

Her eyes about popped out of her head as she stared at him in shock. She flinched and cringed as he neared her, drawing back into the wall with her face braced for a blow, but it didn't come. Instead she opened her eyes after a minute to see it hanging in front of her, just a few inches away, but no closer.

Her eyes flicked up to his. The man cracked a half smile at her, flashing his white and yellow teeth. "You don't have to sit on the ground, you know," he said gently. "There's plenty of places on the inside for you to actually sit."

"I-inside? I thought this was inside..."

He laughed. "No. We're outside, though technically inside the cave. Artemis's actual house is that way." He pointed, and she glanced over at the seemingly solid rock face behind them. She remembered the other wolf going over there and disappearing through. There had to be a door _somewhere_ right around there.

She looked back at the man to see him looking down at her too. "There really is a door built in," he assured her. "I promise."

"No. I mean, yes, I know, I believe that. But I need to go," Holly said. She ignored his hand and stood up, feeling ridiculous to be still sitting there all crunched up. This was all ridiculous. Her head was spinning as she tried to comprehend the events of the past few hours… or was it days? How long had she been in that cage? She didn't know.

He dropped the hand and sighed. "I _knew_ you were going to say that. He said you would..." The man shook his head. "Look, I'm sorry, Holly. You can't leave. Especially not right now. Let's just go inside, alright? We need to talk about all this."

He lifted his hand again. Holly frowned at him, distrust clear in her gaze, but nonetheless, this time she took it. She had already debated her chances of making a run for it and knew they were next to hopeless - it was best if she just stayed with them for now. After all, they hadn't hurt her yet. In fact, they'd done just the opposite. It would be silly for them to save her just to hurt her again, wouldn't it?

She placed her small hand in his large one and let him lead her back to the unseen door in the wall. He placed his palm against an overlarge stone in the wall, and she about jumped out of her skin when it started to glow red, and then, to her further surprise, slowly swung open.

He stepped inside and gestured for her to go with one hand, holding the door with the other. "After you," he said quietly.

Holly had no doubt that these words were not an offer. They were an order. She glanced over her shoulder one last time, but then with a soft sigh went through the door and into the heart of the cave.

She swept her eyes over the interior and stopped in her tracks, unable to contain a gasp.

For a cave, the interior looked pretty damn good. If it weren't for the stone walls, she wouldn't have even been able tell that she was in a cave. It opened up into a wide open area, which she was almost certain had to have been hollowed out by a person, and it was lightly but comfortably furnished and lit. The enclosure was circular, and there was two black leather couches laid opposite from each other, forming a semicircle around a small fireplace set into the wall to the left of her. On the wall across from it was a huge, towering bookcase. It looked handmade and had seven long shelves, each probably able to hold at least forty-something books. Straight ahead, square in the middle, there were two doors, and in the center of the room's ceiling was a large crystal chandelier. Even the stone floor was done over with brown carpeting.

It didn't look anything like a cave. It looked more like the living room of a spoiled rich kid's playhouse.

"Oh, wow," Holly murmured, looking around the room in awe. "This place is.."

"Awesome?" suggested the man wryly, grinning at her with a knowing look on his face. "Believe me, I know. I thought the same thing the first time I'd seen it completed." His grin faded just a tad as he said, "Oh, yeah, and my name is James. I forgot to tell you in the midst of everything."

She looked up at him and grinned a little back despite herself. "Well, I'm Holly, but you already knew that." Her gaze flicked back up to the chandelier and she shook her head again in amazement. "And yeah, I have to say, I think awesome is the best word to describe this place. I've never seen anything like it. Did you build it?"

"Me?" James threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, hell no. I didn't have any part in this. Artemis built this place all by himself."

"Seriously?" Her tone gave away just how much that impressed her as she glanced back at him. "Wow. I wouldn't have guessed one person could do this. That's impressive."

"Why, thank you," a voice interjected, with surprising chilliness.

Both Holly and James jumped a little at the sound of another voice. Holly stared at him as his eyes appraised her again. This man, she presumed, must be Artemis. A strand of his long, dark hair fell over his eyes, and he swiped it out of the way with easy grace as they watched each other.

Artemis was obviously freshly showered - his hair was wet, and his clothes were too clean and straight to have been worn for more than a few minutes. He was dressed in a pair of dark, skinny blue jeans and a muscle-hugging grey sweater. If he was wearing an undershirt under the sweater, she couldn't see it. His feet were bare.

"Well, well," chuckled the man as he stood up completely from his former position leaning on the doorway and stepped forward, appraising her up even closer than before now. His arms were crossed firmly over his chest, but that didn't make her feel any more secure, and she took a step back from him as he approached. He chuckled again. "What the matter, Holly?" Artemis asked, but there was something in his tone, a cold, knowing edge, that told her it was more a rhetorical question. He already knew. He could sense her fear. "Scared?" he added mockingly.

Holly gulped a little and stared up at him. There was fear eyes, but also determination - determination not to let him get to her and allow the fear to take over. She'd spent most of the day struggling to push down her fear while trapped in a cage by a bunch of unknown creatures, for lack of a better word - standing her ground against one man seemed like it should be easy in comparison. "Maybe a little," she said quietly, and was proud to hear her voice didn't tremble or crack. "But it's not every day I get kidnapped twice by separate groups of bloodthirsty lunatics."

He laughed again. "You think we're bloodthirsty lunatics?" he asked, a crooked grin splitting his face in half. Holly found herself mesmerized by it for a half a second before he turned away. "Did you hear that, James?"

"Yep." She snuck a peek at James to see he was grinning too. He caught her gaze and shook his head, obviously amused. "Well, while I don't believe we're bloodthirsty lunatics, I do believe that if we were, she might just be in trouble."

Holly felt her ears prick at that. Artemis feigned interest too, though he already knew what he was talking about. "Oh?" he murmured quietly. "And why is that?"

"Well, she's pretty small," James replied with a shrug. "There's not very much of her to go around. If we really were bloodthirsty, trying to share her would end up badly, no doubt."

Artemis's eyes flicked back to her. The coldness in them, crystal clear blue like that of an enchanted spring or lake, cut through her so easily... She shivered a little at the thought. He didn't move. "Well, that would be a problem, now, wouldn't it?" he murmured softly. His eyes were firmly locked on her face, and she jumped as he reached out a hand and tilted her head up. Her breathing hitched, and she couldn't help but feel like maybe he was staring at her throat in particular. "But I suppose that means it's a good thing I don't plan to share, doesn't it?" finished Artemis, and then with a soft flourish, he pulled away from her and headed back the way he had came. He paused with his hand on the knob of the door farthest to the right. "Come," was all he said, and then he disappeared through the door.

James chuckled and shook his head, even as Holly stood frozen where she was. Her head hadn't dropped from where he'd moved it, and she felt like she could still feel the ghosts of his touch and his gaze on her throat. Her skin seemed to tingle in both areas. "So possessive," she heard him murmur, and then, unexpectedly, he burst out laughing. "And I'm a jackass? That's sweet."

"What?" Holly demanded. She was too confused, too startled and tired and upset to have to deal with trying to figure out why this man was standing here talking to himself like he was having a conversation with someone she couldn't see. It was all just too much, and it was making her cranky.

He seemed to remember she was there quite suddenly and his eyes lost all traces of mirth as he stood up again. "Right. We should go. Artemis obviously has something he wants to show you - or, more likely, tell you. I should warn you, he's not a very overly sentimental or even gentle person, and his patience level is almost pitifully low when he's in moods like this." He shrugged a little. "He'll snap pretty easily."

"Guess we shouldn't keep him waiting then, should we?" she sighed. "Fine. Let's go."

 **Ooh, bit of a cliffhanger. I had to. Also, for reference, my mental model for James is Taylor Lautner. Just throwing that out there. :P**

 **Please review and let me know what you think! This and DB are my biggest** **priorities** **right now, but let me know if there's anything else you guys want to see. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Oops, could've posted this a while ago. Thought I had more on here than I did. My bad. xD**

 **There's some explanations in this chapter, so stay tuned for that. And thanks to my idiocy, the next few chapters are ready, so... ask and you shall** **receive** **! ;)**

She stalked past him and right over to the door she'd watched Artemis walk through just a moment before, throwing it open and walking inside. She found herself in a small kitchen area, almost a kitchenette instead of an actual kitchen. It was small, but it had all the necessary equipment and even more counter space than she'd imagined could be crammed into this small area. For the second time in not so many minutes, she found herself having trouble believing that she was actually in a renovated cave. And maybe it was _majorly_ renovated, but it was still a cave.

Artemis was sitting at the little rectangular table in the center of the room, his eyes on the book in front him. His pale skin contrasted noticeably against the deep red color of the tabletop, but he didn't seem to notice, absorbed in the pages as he was.

"Good book?" Holly asked as she came in and settled herself down on one of the stools across from him.

His eyes flashed was annoyance as he looked up at her and, with a sigh, closed the book he was reading. She wondered vaguely how he knew what page he was on, but didn't let it wholeheartedly distract her as their eyes locked and she felt her heart skip a beat. "Yes," he said, after a long minute of attempting to stare her down silently. "And I'll have you know that you interrupted my reading of it with your rescue. So you should let me read it now in peace."

"But weren't you just the one who told me to follow you?" Holly pointed out. "This was _your_ brilliant idea. As for me, I'd be glad to just leave and go home now if you'd let me, no questions asked."

"Oh, I'm sure you would. Unfortunately for you, however..." He grinned a little. "That won't be possible. Not now, and not for quite some time, either."

Her heart seized up, fear making her queasy as she sought out his eyes again with her own. "What?" she whispered, and was surprised to hear her voice almost fail when she spoke.

"Just because we rescued you once doesn't mean you're safe, sweetheart," he drawled sarcastically. "You've got a target painted on your forehead now. And the fact they captured you once so easily will only boost their confidence in being able to do it again." He shrugged a little, seemingly nonchalant, but the look in his eyes told another story. "You need to stay with me, otherwise, I can't protect you."

"What if I don't want to be protected?" Holly demanded. This was _insane_. All of it was complete and total madness. She wanted to put this night as far behind her as she could, and that was going to be made all the harder if she had to stay with one of them. Not to mention, on a much more serious note, she didn't know either of these men. Who said they were even safe to be around? They could end up inflicting more damage than the people who had kidnapped her before, truth be told, even if it didn't seem likely.

"Well, then you're not going to like what I have to say very much, are you?" he said quietly. He sat forward and looked at her over the table, his eyes dark. "You cannot leave, Holly. Not now, possibly not forever. If I let you out of my sight, they'll come back for you. They could still quite possibly try to come back for you now, even with you in my care. Most of them are stupid, and if they really think they can use you to get to me... they'll stop at nothing to get to you, so that through you, they can hurt me."

"But that's ridiculous!" Holly snapped. "I've never even met you before today! Why would you care about me?"

For a long moment, Artemis was quiet. Then, after a pause, he inhaled deeply, slowly, and cautiously said, "That's not true. We met once before… But you were very young, so I'm not surprised you don't remember. The other fallen ones, though - they do. And because I showed a certain... tenderness… toward you, at the time, and they witnessed it... Well, they made their own assumptions, and unfortunately those assumptions ending up putting you into a very bad situation, one that you very well may not escape from. Especially if you don't listen to me." His eyes glittered, darkly, every hint of the seriousness behind his words embedded plainly in them for her to see. She gulped a little. His eyes followed the movement of her throat before sliding back to her face. "They won't leave it alone, Holly. They won't leave _you_ alone. And in rescuing you as I did, I've got no doubt that I've made you an even bigger target than before."

"Then why did you do it?" she whispered. This time, her voice did crack, although it was hard to catch with as low as her voice was. Artemis, however, didn't miss a thing, and his eyes softened a little bit when he noticed.

"If I hadn't, you'd be dead now," he told her, "But that's besides the point. The point is that I've worked you into a mess you won't be able to just walk away from." One of his hands slid across the table and covered hers, but even as she registered the touch, she didn't pay much attention to it. She only had eyes for his face. "You have to stay with me, Holly. You have to let me protect you." He paused for half a second, then added in a voice so quiet it was barely audible, "Please."

"I..." For a second, she didn't know what to say. Slowly, she drew her hands away and shook her head. "I can't do that. I have to go home. I can't just up and leave, without any warning, especially on the the word of a stranger. Well," she amended, looking over at James, who was still there but keeping quiet, "Two strangers."

Artemis sighed. Then he shrugged and stood up. "You really want to leave?" he asked her, softly. There was an edge to his voice, dark and sultry, that told her how dangerous the question actually was. He made the question sound like a challenge, and she wasn't sure it was one she wanted to take.

She hesitated briefly before nodding. "Yes."

He leaned down over the table, so their faces were a few inches apart. Then, very quietly, he said, "Try."

Holly sucked in a breath. "What?"

"You heard me." He nodded in the direction of the door and said, "Go ahead. Try to leave. See how far you get."

"Artemis..." That was James, speaking for the first time since they'd entered the small kitchen. His eyes flickered between them worriedly. He knew exactly what he was planning, that was for sure. "I don't think-"

"Shut up," Artemis ordered without looking away from Holly. She was his entire focus in that moment. Holly could sense the eagerness in his gaze, his demeanor. He'd reverted to something else, something more... animalistic. He'd turned predatory on her. And she didn't need to ask who was the prey.

Holly's instincts screamed at her to stay there, to not listen to this dangerous creature in front of her. But she couldn't. She had to get out of there. She had to try.

Slowly, she stood up and away from the chair. Then she turned and sprinted towards the door.

If it hadn't still been open from when they had all came through before, she wouldn't have made it as far as the living space. She barely managed to cross over the threshold before she felt the all-encompassing heat and strength of another, bigger person pouncing on her and sending her flying.

She squeezed her eyes tightly closed and fought down the urge to scream.

Somehow, they ended up on one of the couches in front of the fireplace. Holly landed hard on the padded furniture, her breath knocked out of her by the force of how hard she'd hit and the weight of the animal that had landed on top of her.

Holly took a minute to catch her breath as pain shot through her back. She'd forgotten about getting shot earlier. She whimpered quietly, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of actually crying out in pain.

Then she opened her eyes, and all thoughts of her pain flew out the window as she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

The black wolf was on top of her.

She started panicking, gasping and trying to shove the animal off of her, mindless of the pain it caused her. Where the hell had it even come from? She was just in there with two humans, two men no less... There had been no black wolf in sight.

Or maybe...

She stopped struggling suddenly, looking up, her eyes searching the wolf's face until she met it's eyes again. At first he wasn't sure what she was looking for, but then she realized: the wolf's eyes. They were blue. And exactly the same shade as Artemis's... But surely that was a coincidence, right?

She almost managed to convince herself that it was, until right there on top of her, the wolf started to morph.

It's eyes widened and grew, and the black fur that covered it seemed to almost shrink, appearing as though it were sinking into the sink. The bone structure of its face sank lower, thickening, almost seeming to pull apart but really only stretching and reacquainting itself in the resemblance of a human face. His four legs elongated and the paws thickened and spread, turning into legs, arms, and fingers.

And suddenly it was a human on top of her. Artemis. And he was smirking.

"Well well," he chuckled, and she got the feeling he was laughing at her, which she knew as soon as the thought crossed her mind was true. What else could he be laughing at? "Look who's still here."

Holly frowned and thrashed beneath him. "Just get off, you jerk. Leave me alone."

"Aw, come on. Don't be a spoilsport." His grin broadened as he traced a finger down her arm, and his blue eyes twinkled with amusement. "That was fun."

"For you, maybe," she spat. He laughed softly.

"You took the bait. I only tried to help."

"You set me up to fail."

"Did you really think I was going to let you run off and get yourself killed after I just exerted my efforts rescuing you?" Artemis asked, looking at her with something between amusement and high handed annoyance. "Be realistic. I already told you you weren't leaving. Don't act like you were surprised I stopped you."

Holly glared up at him. He stared back, the smirk still toying with the edges of his lips. "Be serious," she snapped. "Just tell me why you stopped me."

"I already answered that. You're not leaving. You're staying. The only reason I baited you like that was for a little... demonstration, shall we say. Just so you knew firsthand how fast I was and how little chance you actually have of escaping me." His eyes ran over her once meaningfully as he said, "I should think you got the message."

The glare she shot his way said she did. "Yes," she said icily. "I did. Now are we done here? Will you get the hell off?"

"Well… since you almost asked nicely… not a chance," he replied. "I'm actually quite comfortable as I am. At any rate, this is the perfect time and position to lay out some ground rules, while we're already on similar topics." He paused, then levelled her with a dark, serious gaze. "We'll just leave it basic for now. You _will_ listen to me, and you _will not_ try to escape. If you do, then I will find a way to punish you accordingly. Understand?" His voice was entirely level, the tone coinciding with the message he was obviously trying to convey.

"But-" she began, but stopped when he clapped a hand down on her mouth.

"No buts. Just tell me that you understand what I've told you. That's all that I need to know, for the moment. Nod if you understood what I just told you."

Not seeing any other choice, Holly averted her eyes from his and nodded beneath his hand.

"Good. Now, before I take my hand off your mouth and allow you to talk, I'm also going to tell you what you're going to do and what I'm going to do when we get up. Understand _that_?" Again, she nodded. "Alright then." He took a breath.

"First and foremost, we have the issue of your new residence. I may or may not go out and get some things for you later, but in the meantime, we need to get the basics, and I'm sure there's some things at your place that you don't just want to leave behind. Therefore, here's what's going to happen: you tell me your address, and I will pass it on to James, along with any specific requests for practicable things that you want immediately. He'll bring them back for you. While he's doing that, you are going to get a shower, because quite frankly you reek of vampires and acid blood, and it's making my stomach flip. I'll be in the kitchen preparing something for us all to eat. You should also know that I will be within earshot the entire time, so you'd best not try anything. If you do, the only thing that will happen is that you will be caught, and both of us will end up in a very sticky situation that neither of us want to be in. Am I clear?" Holly nodded again. "Good. Now that that's all cleared up…" Very slowly, he removed his hand from her mouth, watching her warily.

Holly breathed out gently, closing her eyes for a minute and seeming to pull herself together. Then she opened her eyes again and looked at him. "Um.. Would you mind getting off me now?" she asked.

"Hm.." His hand gently caressed her arm as he contemplated it. After a moment, he shrugged. "Fine. The sooner you get up and get cleaned off, the better."

He hopped down off of her and then, reaching down and grabbing her hand, swiftly pulled her up and off, setting her down on the ground beside him. "Come on. I'll show you where the shower is."

She scowled at him, but eventually nodded. There wasn't much else she could do but what he told her to. He'd already proved that neither escape nor disobedience were options. So without any further resistance, she allowed him to take her hand and lead her towards the bathroom.


	6. Chapter 6

_Why did I let you rope me into this again?_

James smiled to himself, which looked rather creepy, as at the moment he was in his wolf form. Artemis was mentally complaining to him, just as he always did every time he was ticked off about something. _Rope you into what, Fowl?_

 _Saving her! And keeping her here!_ Even in his head, Artemis sounded irritated. _I should have let the vampires kill her._

Smirking at the mental grumbling, James shifted back into wolf form before answering. He couldn't see the light through the trees now, so he assumed it was safe to switch back to wolf form. He had waited until the light faded so he knew he was deep enough in, not wanting to accidentally shift in front of a human. Last time he'd done that, about ten years ago now, he'd just been dropped on Earth, and he'd ended up being shot and nearly killed after terrifying half of the city. Luckily Artemis had found him soon after, or, even with his power to heal, he would have been killed sooner or later.

 _No, you shouldn't have, and if we hadn't saved her, you wouldn't be having these thoughts. You'd be upset and blaming yourself insistently just like you always do._

 _Is it too late for second thoughts?_

 _Are you serious? After spending thirty-something years protecting her? Yes, it is. And you don't want her to go anyway. Admit it._

 _Like hell I don't. By the gods, if she'd just cooperate for_ five minutes… _this would be so much easier._

James chuckled. _I take it you're with her again, then?_

 _Yes. She just got out of the shower. And she's already managed to piss me off._

 _New record?_

 _I have a feeling it's just the beginning of the record setting in that area._ There was a pause, in which in what sounded like the background (meaning Artemis was actually hearing it, not thinking it, but of course the sounds were still going through his head) there was a clanging of what he guessed was metal on metal and a soft curse. _Damn. I burnt myself._

 _Perhaps you should stop talking to me._

 _It's not you that's distracting me…_

More background noise ensued. Holly said something, but it was utterly indistinguishable because Artemis was no longer focused on transmitting to him. Artemis snapped something sharply back, but he couldn't understand that either.

Deciding their conversation was over, he tuned Artemis out the rest of the way back to his place, instead focusing on getting there in one piece and not tripping over the bag he was carrying. He had settled it over one shoulder as a human, which, at that point, had been comfortable. Now, back on four legs, it was dangling beneath his belly and the strap of it kept getting tangled with his legs.

He managed to make it back to the Lair without too many issues. He shifted as he entered the small cave at the front, then pulled open the little door and slipped in.

The first thing he noticed was the silence. It was completely quiet - so quiet a human could have heard a pin drop across the house. Which, to James, was immediately worrying. _He probably killed her to shut her up_ , he thought, speeding into the kitchen.

Much to his immediate relief, Holly was still alive when he went in. She was just quiet for once because she was eating.

Artemis was steadily ignoring her. He was eating too, but he had preoccupied himself with a book, so that explained the total lack of sound.

Artemis didn't look up when he entered, having heard him before he entered the cave. Holly, however, looked up at the sound and smiled as he handed her the bag. "Thanks," she told him, setting it on her lap and starting to rummage through it. He couldn't help noticing she was only wearing one of Artemis's shirts, which was huge on her. He bit back a dirty grin.

"No problem. I can pick up some more things later, but I think I've had it with traveling for the night." He wandered over to the stove to get some food. Artemis had made plenty.

Holly nodded her agreement, blushing slightly since she knew it was all her fault. Just because she hadn't done it on purpose didn't mean it wasn't because on her.

 _I think she's growing fond of you_.

Artemis pushed the thought to him, unbidden. James glanced back at him, surprised, but deciding not to say anything. Obviously, he wasn't as into that book as he was pretending to be.

 _It's only been one night, Artemis. Give it time. Anyway, if you weren't being such a jerk…_

 _If she wasn't so irritating…_

 _You're being extremely childish, you know._

He could almost see Artemis recoil in his mind's eye, although outwardly he made no sign. _Hardly. She's the one being a petulant child._

 _It's just because it's new for her. She's been abducted twice in a few days and then told she can likely never go home. She has a right to be uncomfortable._

 _If she's uncomfortable now, just think how she'll react when I tell her there's only one bedroom._

 _You haven't told her yet?_

 _If she hasn't figured it out, she's less intelligent than I thought. It's not like I could let her out of my sight anyway._ Artemis sighed internally. _She'll find out soon enough. She can't last much longer after a day like today._

As if on cue, Holly yawned and pushed her plate away. James turned to her and grinned, nudging Artemis on the shoulder so that he looked up for the first time. "Tired, Holly?"

Artemis frowned at him, then looked back at Holly as she answered. "Yes," she admitted. "Is there somewhere I can lay down?"

"There's a bedroom," James replied, almost too happily. Then, at her startled look, he jokingly added, "Just because we can be animals doesn't mean we want to live like them."

"James," Artemis snapped sharply. Then he added, only to him: _Now is not the time._

James relented. "Should I show her where the bedroom is, or are you going to?"

With a sigh, Artemis closed his book. "I suppose I will, since I have to go with her anyway." He stood up. "Go home, James."

"Alright," he agreed. "Just don't kill her before morning."

"I don't intend to. Go."

James shot him a look, heading for the door. "Goodnight, Holly."

"Goodnight." Holly waved halfhearted at him, watching him until he disappeared out the door, a plate of food still in his hand. Then she looked back at Artemis.

He was eyeing her speculatively. She looked away, suddenly nervous about being alone with him again. She had been while James was gone, of course, but this somehow felt different. "Well," he said, after a long moment, "Let's go to bed then. You're only going to get more tired sitting there."

Holly blushed and got up. "Right." She put her bag over her shoulder. "Ready."

Artemis turned without a word. He led her back into the living space, then turned into the only other interior door. Holly followed him silently.

This was obviously the bedroom. It was big, but dark. The bed sat in the middle of the wall in front of her. There was a nightstand on either side and a chest at the foot. On the wall directly across from the bed was Artemis's dresser. On the one directly across from her was just a door that she knew led to the bathroom and a massive bookshelf. That was it; that was all there was. It made the place feel almost empty.

Artemis settled into bed and started reading again while she was looking. He didn't seem too worried about her taking it in - but then, he didn't have any personal effects she could see, so why would he mind?

"Are you going to get in bed some time tonight?" Artemis asked her without looking up from his book.

Holly glanced at him. "Are we sleeping together?"

"Unless you want to sleep on the floor."

Holly made her way around to the other side of the bed, as he had taken the side closest to the door, and dropped her bag on the floor beside it. "Aren't you supposed to offer to take the floor? I thought that was basic chivalry."

He glanced at her for the first time, looking amused. "I'm not chivalrous. Someday you'll learn that."

Holly climbed in beside him. "I don't know about that. The whole rescue mission thing and playing the white knight in shining armor kind of makes you look chivalrous." Despite the fact that he seemed mildly bipolar and had been nothing but a jerk. But she didn't say that outloud.

Artemis's face darkened. "I saved you because it was my fault you were in trouble. If it weren't for me, you could be at home right now living normally. But I made you a target, and I couldn't just let you die."

"Couldn't you?"

"Would you rather I did?"

Holly stared at him. He stared back, arching an eyebrow at her. "Well?"

She shook it herself. "I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe I'm better off dead than locked up here like a prisoner."

"You are a prisoner, basically." Artemis closed his book, giving her his full attention now. "And if you don't like it, then tough. Because you're stuck here, and that's how it is." He leaned closer, so they were almost nose to nose. "Got it?"

Holly's breath caught. She wasn't used to this proximity, and frankly she wasn't sure how to feel about it. "Yes," she breathed.

"Good." His voice was low, his eyes fixed on hers. Then he pulled back suddenly, wrinkling his nose. "You still stink like vampire." He opened his book again, not giving her time to retort when he said sharply, "Go to sleep, Holly."

She laid down, but still continued to press. "Don't you need to sleep? Or does being a….whatever you are...make it so you don't have to?"

He sighed. "I'll sleep when I'm ready. Right now, you're the one who needs it."

"Maybe I'm not tired," Holly grumbled. In truth, she was, but he was irritating her with bossing her around.

"You'll go to sleep, Holly, or so help me, I'll make you, and you won't like it." He looked at her again, his eyes dark and serious. Holly bit her lip.

"How do you plan to do that?"

"You don't want to know. But if you don't go to sleep, you're going to find out." Artemis met her eyes, daring her to argue.

Holly huffed, then rolled over and closed her eyes. If she at least tried, maybe he would lay off of her. But in all honesty, she didn't think she could fall asleep anyway.

At least, that was what she thought until she closed her eyes. Despite everything, her body was exhausted enough that, even with her mind still spinning from the day's events, she was unconscious minutes after her head hit the pillow.


	7. Chapter 7

It took a minute to orient herself when she woke up the next morning. She sighed when she remembered where she was and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Artemis was nowhere to be seen, but her keen hearing picked up on the sounds of murmuring from the next room. She got up, stretching as she exited the room.

Artemis and James were both in the kitchen already, talking. They stopped abruptly when she entered.

"Morning, Holly." James smiled brightly at her. He was seated at the table, already munching on breakfast. He looked much better than yesterday, almost glowing with better health and cleanliness.

"Morning." She smiled tiredly at him and took a seat beside him at the table, glancing at Artemis. He hadn't even acknowledged she was there, scrambling eggs in a pan and frying bacon in another. Just looking at him from this position she could see he looked terrible. When he turned his head slightly as he flipped the bacon, she saw he actually looked paler, the bags under his eyes darker and deeper. She frowned to herself. She'd seen the bags under his eyes and how pale he was yesterday, but she'd paid it little attention. She didn't know him enough to know whether he normally looked like that. But did he?

James seemed to catch her preoccupation. "He needs to feed, but he's being stubborn," he murmured in her ear. "That's why he looks so bad."

"James," Artemis snapped. He turned, giving him a dark look that said he wasn't as oblivious as he'd been acting. "Don't," he told him warningly.

James wilted under the command, looking down at his food and sighing. He turned his gaze to Holly, and she met his eyes. The intensity of his stare made her feel self conscious, but she held it nonetheless, and after a minute he sighed and turned long enough to grab a plate she hadn't noticed before and hand it to her. "Here. Eat."

Holly looked down at the plate he'd set in front of her. It was full of eggs, bacon, and he'd set two pieces of toast on the side. "Get whatever you want out of the fridge," he muttered, turning away again and starting to make his own.

She blinked, but got up and grabbed a water out of the fridge. James already had the jelly and everything else she wanted out. She returned to her seat, starting to spread jelly on her toast.

Artemis joined them at the table after a minute, starting to eat silently. None of them spoke. After a few minutes of this, the silence became too much and she had to say something. "Is someone going to tell me what that means?" she asked finally, looking up and putting her fork down.

Both of them looked at her, but James spoke first. "What?"

"Obviously it's not about eating, because we're all eating. What does it mean? Feeding? What does he need? And why don't you?"

James sighed, looking down. Artemis looked at her, pressing his lips together before answering. "He does too. He just has, and I have not," he told her tersely.

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't leave you here by yourself," he snapped. "It's dangerous even if you weren't a flight risk. And as I did most of the work yesterday and I haven't been able to feed, yes, I look terrible. Believe me, I'm aware."

Holly looked down at her plate. He was testy today - almost mean instead of just cold. She put it down to his need, but still pressed on because she wanted to know. "But why? What is it you need?"

Artemis clenched his jaw and didn't answer, looking down at his plate. She looked at James. "Tell me," she insisted.

James sighed. "Blood," he said quietly. "He needs blood."

"James-" Artemis growled.

"Someone has to tell her, Artemis! It's reality. She's not going anywhere and she was going to find out eventually." He shook his head, turning to face Holly. "We need blood, Holly. Being what we are, we eat food, but we also need blood. It's not a one-or-the-other type thing. It's both."

"So why doesn't he just… go get some?" She bit her lip. "I mean, you're here with me now, so… he can go do what he needs to. Right?"

"It's not that simple," James told her. "We need blood with a certain gradient of magic to replenish us, especially if we've exerted any effort or do anything that involves magic. Which he did a lot of yesterday. And if you have blood with more magic in it and then try to go back to something with less, it still works, but it's not as… fulfilling." He looked at her, waiting for her to comprehend.

Holly stared at him, still not understanding, then looked at Artemis. He wasn't looking at her, instead keeping his eyes lowered to the plate and very obviously biting his tongue. "But… you should be able to find something, right? You have plenty of time as long as James is with me."

"Holly." James sighed and shook his head, seeing she didn't understand still. He put his hand on her shoulder, partially for comfort and partially to make sure she didn't try to run. "He needs your blood."

Her eyes widened, her heart starting to thunder. It suddenly occurred to her they probably could hear it, and it was torment to both of them. She looked between them. James obviously had already fed, and that was why he looked so much better than Artemis. She could only imagine how Artemis felt. Not only suffering, but knowing exactly what he needed was right in front of him all night and not touching her. She shook her head, feeling her body itch to get into fight or flight even though neither of them had moved, but she knew better than to do that again. "Why?" she managed.

"Because he's drank from you before, your blood is the only thing that can fully satisfy him now," James explained gently, squeezing her shoulder. He sounded like he was trying to calm a startled animal, further reinforcing both her belief they could sense her blood thrumming and her fear.

"That's not even possible," Holly breathed. "How-"

"When we met the first time," Artemis told her, speaking for the first time. He lifted his eyes slowly, his dark blue orbs locking on her hazel ones, making her feel paralyzed by the intensity of his gaze. "I drank from you. I needed to feed after we were attacked, and normally I would have taken the wolves, but they'd almost all escaped or been killed. You were the most feasible option at that point." He still spoke quietly, but held her eyes.

Holly felt herself shiver slightly. "So you've been… unfulfilled… since then?" she asked carefully.

The corners of his mouth turned up in a small smirk. "For lack of better terminology, yes."

"I see." She took a deep breath. This must have been what they were talking about when she came in. Artemis was being stubborn about feeding… why? Because he didn't want to drink from her again? Or because he did? She shook her head. "So you really are bloodthirsty lunatics," she murmured, almost to herself.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," James chuckled. "Not in the sense of wanting to kill you, but…"

Artemis got up suddenly and starting cleaning his plate up, shaking his head. He seemed irritated again, but when he spoke his tone was almost resigned. "You are opposed to this, of course. That's why I wasn't going to bring it up." He shot James a dark look.

"I didn't say that!" Holly said quickly. She glanced at James, not wanting him to get in anymore trouble for her. Besides, despite the position this put her in, she wasn't immediately opposed to it. It didn't sound appealing, but she got the feeling that Artemis wasn't going to die from lack of feeding, just get more and more grumpy and unmanageable. And if she was stuck here anyway…

Artemis stopped by the sink, his whole body tensing. James looked at her with utter surprise. Obviously it was the last thing either of them expected her to say. "You're not opposed to that?" he blurted, still staring at her in shock.

"I mean… well…" She looked down. "It doesn't sound like I have a lot of choice. And if it's what's best for him…" She took a shuddering breath, shrugging slightly.

"You always have a choice," Artemis said softly. He set the plate in the sink, turning slowly to face her again. "I won't force you, Holly. It's your body. But... it would help me quite a lot, yes."

Holly nodded. She couldn't help feeling apprehensive, but even still, she knew what she was going to - had to, really - say. She bit her lip. "Okay. Then… you can- you can have my blood. Just…" she looked between them, her heart beating fast again. "Is it going to hurt?"

The two men exchanged a look. If she didn't know any better she would say it looked like they were having a silent conversation. Finally, Artemis spoke again, looking down. "No. It's… not like that." He sighed, looking at her for a minute and then down at her plate. "Are you done?"

"With my food? Yes." She pushed the plate away.

"Good." He rubbed his face. "Then come with me." He walked out of the room.

Holly got up slowly, glancing nervously at James. He smiled reassuringly at her. "It's okay. I'll be out here the whole time."

"Is that supposed to reassure me? Because it really only makes me more nervous."

"Just go, Holly." He squeezed her shoulder softly before releasing her and giving her a gentle shove towards the door.

Holly stumbled and regained her footing, following Artemis out slowly. Her heart sped up again when she saw the door to the bedroom open, but she went in nonetheless, knowing that was where she needed to be.

Artemis was waiting inside. He shut the door behind her, making her jump. She didn't realize he was back there. "So, um…" she started awkwardly, but he waved her off.

"Sit on the bed," he ordered, walking over to his dresser. He started unbuttoning his shirt, taking it off and laying it down on the top of the table.

Holly sat on the edge of the bed, her heart thundering. She was undeniably nervous, even more so because she knew he could hear it. She was even more edgy as she watched him take his shirt off, squirming slightly on the edge of the bed. Why was that necessary? Did she really want to know?

Artemis turned and sighed slightly. She couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips at the sight of his torso. He was littered with thin white lines, obviously scars, from what appeared to be claws or scratch marks. There were a few that weren't completely healed, and she guessed they must have been from yesterday.

He chuckled softly when he caught her preoccupation. He stopped in front of her, tilting her head up to make her meet his eyes. "Don't mind them. They'll heal quickly once I'm at full capacity again." His eyes searched her face. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Do you really need it?"

"Yes."

"Then yes," she whispered. "I do."

"Good." He lifted her up like a child, carrying her into the center of the bed. "At its best, feeding is an intimate act," Artemis murmured in her ear. "I would never force you to do that, but the closer we are, the more fulfilling this is." He set her down at the head of the bed, cradling her in his lap. "I need you to realize that."

Holly's breathed hitched softly. She was still wearing only his shirt, and his soft words and his proximity made her react in a way she didn't intend. He held her gently, tenderly, almost as if afraid to break her as he lowered her back against the nest of pillows at the head of the bed. It was a stark contrast to the testy way he'd been acting earlier. Her torso was propped with pillows and her lower half sat in his lap. Without thinking, she parted her legs around his body, letting them lay extended on either side of his hips.

Artemis seemed pleased with this positioning as he leaned up, his torso bent over her from between her legs. He lowered his head to her neck, inhaling deeply against her skin. "You smell amazing," he whispered, his mouth against her neck. He closed his eyes against her skin, taking a breath. "But you're hurt and your heart is thundering. I need you to relax, Holly. Sending your blood rushing is a surefire way to make me accidentally drink too much."

"Hurt?" she repeated breathily. "What do you mean?"

"The wound on your back. I can sense it." He kissed her neck softly, his hand slipping between them and undoing the buttons of the shirt she was wearing slowly. "Why didn't you heal it?"

"I'm… I'm out of magic. They kidnapped me before I could do the ritual," she whispered, closing her eyes. She could feel him undoing the shirt, but she didn't resist, even as he reached the last button and brushed his knuckles down the center of her body before pushing the open shirt back, exposing the whole side of her neck and shoulder.

"I'll take you sometime," he whispered.

The sensation of his lips against her skin made her shudder, but she nodded. After a minute she realized her heart rate had slowed. He was talking to calm her down and distract her, and it was working. "Alright," she agreed breathlessly.

His hand came up and tilted her chin up and to the side, angling her head. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm and keep regulating her breathing. "I'm going to bite you right here." He brushed his lips over her neck, millimeters away from her pulsepoint and directly over her throbbing jugular. "Lots of blood flowing quickly through your jugular. I won't have to suck so hard or for very long then. Alright?"

Feeling like it was a bad idea to nod after he'd positioned her how he wanted her, she closed her eyes and breathed, "Yes."

"Okay." He inhaled deeply, nuzzling her neck. "1…2…3." He sunk his teeth into her neck.

Holly gasped and jerked reflexively, but he was expecting it and easily held her still. It was a sensation unlike anything she'd felt before. The bite itself wasn't even painful. It was akin to being cut with a sharp knife; undeniably she felt something, and it sort of stung for a moment before numbing, but that was the worst of it.

Then he started sucking. She inhaled sharply at the feeling, sinking her teeth into her lip to bite back a moan. She expected pain, if anything, but instead it almost felt… good. She could feel him sucking, gently, with just enough force to pull the blood back to him, and the blood flowing over her skin. It was warm and wet, and if it weren't for the stickiness of it then it would have felt no different than the sensation of water running over her skin.

But that wasn't what made her moan. It was the rush of pleasure that washed over her as soon as he started pulling, making her toes curl and her whole body shiver. She suddenly wanted him closer, desperately, and it was with her last ounce of sense that she resisted grabbing him and directing his mouth elsewhere.

The pleasure slowly faded into a dull buzz as he sucked her blood from her body. Her eyes started to feel heavy after a minute or so, but she was too lost in the sensation to worry about whether he intended to stop or not.

Eventually, he pulled away, panting softly from the effort. Holly's eyes fluttered, and she whimpered softly at the loss. "Artemis…"

"Shhh…" He looked down at her and felt a rush of affection for her, unbidden, before shaking it off. It was just an aftereffect of being so close to her. He released her chin and smoothed her hair back gently. "Relax. Don't fight it."

"Did you...get enough?" Her eyes fluttered as she tried to stay awake, looking up at him.

"Plenty." He smiled softly at her, getting up. "Just rest. You can sleep now."

Holly nodded, opening her mouth to respond, but closed it slowly as blood loss won out, dragging her back into unconsciousness.


End file.
